Manfred Ewald

Manfred Ewald (17 May 1926 – 21 October 2002) served as German Democratic Republic's (GDR) Minister of Sport (1961–1988) and president of his country's Olympic committee[1] (1973–1990). He was convicted for his role in the state-sponsored system of the use of illicit performance-enhancing drugs that increased East Germany's Olympic successes from 1972–1988.

Manfred Ewald
Manfred Ewald (right) and Waldemar Cierpinski, 1980
President of the National Olympic Committee of East Germany
In office
1973–1990
Preceded byHeinz Schöbel
Succeeded byGünther Heinze
President of the German Gymnastics and Sports Federation
In office
1961–1988
Preceded byRudi Reichert
Succeeded byKlaus Eichler
Personal details
Born(1926-05-17)17 May 1926
Podejuch, Weimar Germany (now part of Szczecin, Poland)
Died21 October 2002(2002-10-21) (aged 76)
Damsdorf, Germany
AwardsOrder of Karl Marx
Olympic Order
Patriotic Order of Merit

Life

Ewald was born in Podejuch, Province of Pomerania, Weimar Germany (Podjuchy, Poland), he was a member of the Hitler Youth, the Nazi party and, after World War II, the Socialist Unity Party (also known as the Communist Party). He was captured by the Soviet Red Army in 1944.[2][3]

He was awarded the Olympic Order by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1983.[4]

In 1985, as president of the National Olympic Committee of East Germany, Ewald authored a letter to the IOC for the 90th IOC session being held in East Berlin that year.[5]

Ewald defended his role in sports doping in his 1994 book, Ich war der Sport.

Doping

On 18 July 2000, in Berlin, Ewald and Dr. Manfred Höppner, East Germany's top sports doctor, were convicted as accessories to "intentional bodily harm of athletes, including minors." Both received probation. During the trial, Höppner testified that they had received approval from the highest level of government.

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-07-05. Retrieved 2015-07-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Spitzer, Giselher (2000-07-12). "Vom Alt-Nazi zum führenden SED-Funktionär" (in German). Die Welt.
  3. "Manfred Ewald ist tot" (in German). Der Spiegel. 2002-10-22.
  4. Olympic Order (23rd IOA Session)
  5. http://www.la84foundation.org/OlympicInformationCenter/OlympicReview/1985/ore211/ore211f.pdf


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